Flathead Community Members Gather in Support of CSKT Water Compact

(Pablo, Mont.)—Farmers, ranchers, irrigators, and water users from across the Flathead Valley gathered this afternoon to show their support of the CSKT Water Compact.

Nearly fifty individuals attended to listen to Governor Bullock’s address to the CSKT Tribal Council on legislative progress, including the status of the CSKT Water Compact.

“I’m here simply to show my support,” said Dennis Duty, and irrigator and business owner in Polson. “The passage or failure of the Compact will determine the course of many farms and businesses across the Flathead Valley. If the Compact fails the uncertainty it will cause will have far reaching impacts.”

For those who attended to support the Compact, the reasons for their support varied from ensuring their ability to continue to irrigate their property to a desire to ensure property rights and protect land values.

“Without the Compact, the fate of our water and the value of the land that depends on it will be largely in the hands of the Courts,” said local businessman, Mike Maddy. “Our communities and businesses deal with enough uncertainty as it is, we don’t need to compound the difficulties that they face.”

The Compact is expected to have it’s hearing in the House Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks.

Farmers And Ranchers for Montana (FARM) is a coalition of hundreds of farmers and ranchers, united with local leaders, tribal governments, businesses, water-users, and other Montanans who support the approval of a Water Compact.